Perhaps I’m overreacting but I have a question about Lynn’s post. She links to a Dick Morris column touching on Colorado’s congressional races — his conclusions seem plausible if on the optimistic side for Republicans.

Unusually articulate? What does that mean? Either you’re articulate or you’re not. You can be very articulate. Tremendously articulate. Barely articulate. I know Ryan, he’s a sharp guy. Perlmutter — I may think he’s an off-the-reservation lefty — but he’s articulate. Cory Gardner is articulate. Betsy Markey is articulate.

What makes Ryan Frazier so unusually articulate?

It reminds me of another sad moment in the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations:

The news continues to be good for Republican Ryan Frazier, who is trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

The Cook Political Report today changed the race from “likely Democrat” to “leans Democrat,” signaling Frazier is gaining ground on the popular two-term Democrat from Golden.

Republican Ryan Frazier.

“Aurora Councilman Ryan Frazier won the August primary convincingly and is a strong challenger whose background as a veteran, charter school backer, and an African-American Republican put him on plenty of “rising stars” lists long before he jumped out of the Senate race and into the House race. Perlmutter has strong union backing and still has the edge, but this is a competitive race.”

Arapahoe County Clerk Nancy Doty endorsed Tom Tancredo for governor, a move that has raised issues about whether it’s appropriate for an elections chief to do so.

Nancy Doty

Doty said she endorsed Tancredo as a private citizen, not as the clerk and recorder, but clearly it’s difficult separating the two. When Tancredo sent out his list of Republican endorsements Wednesday, he listed her as “Arapahoe County Clerk, Nancy Doty.”

Supporters of three tax-slashing initiatives said today they can’t reveal the identity of the author of the ballot measures because he’s an attorney whose firm does business with the state.

The mysterious origins of the three tax-slashing initiatives, Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101, were discussed today during a taping of the Rocky Mountain PBS show “Colorado State of Mind.” Supporters of the measures faced off against opponents in the show, which airs Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. on PBS stations.

Though there is an issue committee formed to support the three initiatives, the supporters who showed up for the taping were Greg Golyansky, vice chairman of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, and Ralph Shnelvar, chairman of the Boulder County Libertarian Party.

Opponents were represented by Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell Policy Center, and Katy Atkinson, a Republican political strategist who works for Coloradans for Responsible Reform, the coalition of businesses, labor unions and non-profits fighting the measures.

An analysis of congressional votes shows that Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter votes with his party 98.2 percent of the time.

Republicans point to that figure and an editorial in The Denver Post four years ago endorsing Perlmutter’s candidacy for what was an open seat in the 7th Congressional District.

The district then was represented by Republican Bob Beauprez, who was running for governor.

“The 7th deserves a representative who reflects its electorate, a centrist with an independent streak who is not afraid to buck party politics,” The Post wrote.

“That hasn’t been the case since the seat was created four years ago. Congressman Bob Beauprez toed the GOP party line, voting with President Bush an implausible 98 percent of the time. We’re confident no matter who is elected this fall, neither candidate will produce such an obsessively partisan record.”

The reality is most politicians vote with their party most of the time.

In 2002, when U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard was running for re-election, Democrats hammered him for voting with Republicans 98 percent of the time. Yet, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, voted with her party 96 percent of the time. Tom Tancredo, then a Republican congressman and now a gubernatorial candidate on a third-party ticket, voted with his party 94 percent of the time. The real renegade? Then U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Democrat turned Republican who voted with the GOP 89 percent of the time.

Had the proponents focused on repealing the FASTER law that raised vehicle registration fees and reversing the General Assembly’s decision to freeze mill levy rates, Suthers said, their work would have been more reasonable.

Instead, proponents created a situation that would drain the state’s general fund so thoroughly that only K-12 education would receive any funding.

Prisons, roads, human services, higher ed – all of that the state would no longer be able to maintain.

The Attorney General, who is pro-life, also said the “personhood” measure – Amendment 62 – goes too far by giving fetuses contractual rights.

Now, how might a fertilized egg go about acquiring property? Or go to court to advance a denial-of-due-process claim? Do we want to see a guardian-at-litem representing a fetus suing a pregnant woman because she takes medication for diabetes or epilepsy?

Our civil courts are busy enough as it is. But this could get even weirder.

Suthers paid us a visit as we’re preparing to make endorsements for the General Election. He faces Democrat Stan Garnett, the district attorney in Boulder.

GOP Senate candidate Ken Buck acknowledged that his opponent Michael Bennet’s new negative ads have probably cost him some votes, but he vowed to run positive ads through November.

“What happened when Jane Norton ran negative ads?” Buck told The Denver Post Wednesday, referring to his primary opponent. “We ran, here is Ken, here is his family, here is his position on the Constitutional balanced budget amendment … What we’ve done consistently is put out positive messages about my vision for this state and my role in the U.S. Senate.”

A bi-partisan poll released earlier this week showed Buck and Bennet running a close race statewide. Among suburban voters — thought to be the bread and butter moderates who will decide this election — they are tied.

Buck said Bennet is “lying about me.”

“We have not had a chance yet to put up the truth, to make sure people understand what this campaign is about,” Buck said. “Did I mention Bennet is lying?”

Sen. Michael Bennet made two moves yesterday that support his argument that he would demand more fiscal discipline going forward.

Yes, the appointed senator is in a tight race and playing politics is a huge part of the decision-making here, but you’ve got to give credit where it’s due.

First off, Bennet rejected President Obama’s request to spend another $50 billion to stimulate the economy. He did so because the president wishes to fund his infrastructure project – which is a fine idea, as long as it’s paid for – with taxes on oil and gas producers, which Bennet notes would impact Colorado.

“I will not support additional spending in a second stimulus package,” Bennet said in a statement. “Any new transportation initiatives can be funded through the Recovery Act (the stimulus), which still contains unused funds.”

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.